Mary Stayed Out All Night: A robot, a teddy bear, and an alley cat walk into a bar...
Mary Stayed Out All Night
(or Marry Me, Mary!)
She's a penniless twentysomething. They're her meal ticket back to college... if she can survive a marriage contract. Together, wacky hijinks, co-habitation, and an OT3 practically handwrapped for future porn!
I LOVE THIS DRAMA, AND HATERS CAN SEE THE DOOR. Seriously, don't even bother commenting if you're just going to say "but it was repetitive!" or "it had no point!" This is a drama about fake marriages, love contracts, slash jokes, and running over your love interest to the tunes of choir music. If you expected genius storytelling, the problem was with you.
This is Mae Ri. She has a little problem of two husbands.
See, her dad wanted to marry her off to a wealthy producer, but Mae Ri didn't know him and wasn't interested in an arranged marriage. So she faked a marriage to one of her friends:
If her dad thought she was already married, he couldn't marry her off to someone else, see? There was only one problem:
He'd already registered her marriage to the first guy.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LIVE IN A ROMCOM.
"Married" to two separate men, Mae Ri is legally and personally screwed. But her father comes up with a plan: she'll sign a 100-day contract where she agrees to test-drive marriage with both guys and then decide which she prefers for a real husband.
I would I could say "it makes sense in context." It doesn't. But I remind you: you chose to watch it. I WILL HEAR NO COMPLAINTS.
This is Moo Kyul, husband #1. He's a grumpy indie rocker who hates all this marriage crap and hates Mae Ri for dragging him into it. That's why he sings her drunken songs, camps out in her living room, gets jealous of other guys, and gives her piggyback rides.
"This is no indication of my real feelings, I just wanted to be a lumberjack in my past life."
Mae Ri and Moo Kyul are full of ridiculous adventures, like that time they got arrested or when she almost ran him over, or when they were hiding from her father... in a dumpster. And he waited around for hours, so they just cuddled together. In the dumpster.
Mae Ri also popped their cherry for face violence. You know, how all drama OTPs are started by some kind of slap, punch, or roundkick to the face. Face violence.
Any heroine can hit her love interest. It takes a special heroine to make him hit himself.
This is Jung In, husband #2. He's a functioning robot from the planet Dorkron who falls to our world and finds himself flabbergasted with all this emotion.
He's supposed to be a cool, handsome businessman, but then he sits around in the dark cherishing the socks Mae Ri gave him. He takes her for long walks just to hold her hand. He woos her with fine dining and polished compliments... that he practices in advance, right down to the angle.
His idea of romance is to buy her a home library and fill it with her favorite books. And, uh, that may have been a fantasy I didn't know I had. HE BOUGHT HER A LIBRARY. If a guy did that for me... GAME OVER, NO MORE CONTRACT NECESSARY.
He's so perfect that Mae Ri starts to wonder why he's bothering with a fake marriage at all. He's a rich, good-looking producer -- why would he agree to this craziness when he could have any girl he wanted? There's only one possible answer.
"He's gay!"
THE DRAMA DOESN'T EXACTLY DISCOURAGE THE IDEA. Moo Kyul falls asleep on his shoulder and wakes up in his bed. Jung In is seen alone in a darkened crowd gazing intensely as he croons a song about "my precious."
My... preccccccioussssssssss.
You know a drama is slashy when the heroine actually has to GET BETWEEN THEM, WAVING HER ARMS to be noticed.
Moo Kyul: I'M ANGRY! So here I am fighting for my manly heterosexual love in my pink shirt and glittery accessories.
Jung In: I'll punch you in the face! I really will! I saw Fight Club.
Picking a ship was easy for some people. NOT FOR ME. Who was I supposed to choose, the funny grumpy teddy bear or the dorky melted ice prince? You might as well ask me which is better, cake or pie?
Clearly the OT3 is the only solution. I mean, they spend all their time together and even briefly live together (!!!!!!!) and there's kissing involved for both couples. Mae Ri angsts in bed, thinking about all the kisses she's received.
Mae Ri's dad singing about "my two son-in-laws."
Have I talked about Mae Ri yet? Because she's the best part of the drama. She's funny, warm, devious, adorable, and pretty much the cutest thing ever. She's an avid drama watcher! She always wears a million fuzzy layers that make her look like a mitten-wearing carnival show of sunshine and joy! She's one of those characters who will make you smile ALL THE TIME.
You just smiled, didn't you? Don't lie.
She also makes the dual-marriage plot. See, she agrees to the 100 day trial, but only as part of her master plan to go back to school. The boys are expecting her to choose a husband after 100 days, but in reality she plans to kick both of them to the curb and use the money for college.
In the meantime, she demands to work as part of the deal, and she winds up landing her dream job of being a screenwriter's assistant.
Basically, Mae Ri is so great that she single-handedly took the whole "arranged marriage" storyline and turned it into a vehicle for her education, career, and personal passions. HELL YEAH MAE RI. \o/
So yes, this drama is absolutely ridiculous. But it's a ridiculous you don't have to feel bad about watching. It's like a three-layer chocolate ice cream cake lying on a plate of dollar bills. Of course you want it. You still have to eat your way to the male stripper in the center.
(or Marry Me, Mary!)
She's a penniless twentysomething. They're her meal ticket back to college... if she can survive a marriage contract. Together, wacky hijinks, co-habitation, and an OT3 practically handwrapped for future porn!
I LOVE THIS DRAMA, AND HATERS CAN SEE THE DOOR. Seriously, don't even bother commenting if you're just going to say "but it was repetitive!" or "it had no point!" This is a drama about fake marriages, love contracts, slash jokes, and running over your love interest to the tunes of choir music. If you expected genius storytelling, the problem was with you.
This is Mae Ri. She has a little problem of two husbands.
See, her dad wanted to marry her off to a wealthy producer, but Mae Ri didn't know him and wasn't interested in an arranged marriage. So she faked a marriage to one of her friends:
If her dad thought she was already married, he couldn't marry her off to someone else, see? There was only one problem:
He'd already registered her marriage to the first guy.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LIVE IN A ROMCOM.
"Married" to two separate men, Mae Ri is legally and personally screwed. But her father comes up with a plan: she'll sign a 100-day contract where she agrees to test-drive marriage with both guys and then decide which she prefers for a real husband.
I would I could say "it makes sense in context." It doesn't. But I remind you: you chose to watch it. I WILL HEAR NO COMPLAINTS.
This is Moo Kyul, husband #1. He's a grumpy indie rocker who hates all this marriage crap and hates Mae Ri for dragging him into it. That's why he sings her drunken songs, camps out in her living room, gets jealous of other guys, and gives her piggyback rides.
"This is no indication of my real feelings, I just wanted to be a lumberjack in my past life."
Mae Ri and Moo Kyul are full of ridiculous adventures, like that time they got arrested or when she almost ran him over, or when they were hiding from her father... in a dumpster. And he waited around for hours, so they just cuddled together. In the dumpster.
Mae Ri also popped their cherry for face violence. You know, how all drama OTPs are started by some kind of slap, punch, or roundkick to the face. Face violence.
Any heroine can hit her love interest. It takes a special heroine to make him hit himself.
This is Jung In, husband #2. He's a functioning robot from the planet Dorkron who falls to our world and finds himself flabbergasted with all this emotion.
He's supposed to be a cool, handsome businessman, but then he sits around in the dark cherishing the socks Mae Ri gave him. He takes her for long walks just to hold her hand. He woos her with fine dining and polished compliments... that he practices in advance, right down to the angle.
His idea of romance is to buy her a home library and fill it with her favorite books. And, uh, that may have been a fantasy I didn't know I had. HE BOUGHT HER A LIBRARY. If a guy did that for me... GAME OVER, NO MORE CONTRACT NECESSARY.
He's so perfect that Mae Ri starts to wonder why he's bothering with a fake marriage at all. He's a rich, good-looking producer -- why would he agree to this craziness when he could have any girl he wanted? There's only one possible answer.
"He's gay!"
THE DRAMA DOESN'T EXACTLY DISCOURAGE THE IDEA. Moo Kyul falls asleep on his shoulder and wakes up in his bed. Jung In is seen alone in a darkened crowd gazing intensely as he croons a song about "my precious."
My... preccccccioussssssssss.
You know a drama is slashy when the heroine actually has to GET BETWEEN THEM, WAVING HER ARMS to be noticed.
Moo Kyul: I'M ANGRY! So here I am fighting for my manly heterosexual love in my pink shirt and glittery accessories.
Jung In: I'll punch you in the face! I really will! I saw Fight Club.
Picking a ship was easy for some people. NOT FOR ME. Who was I supposed to choose, the funny grumpy teddy bear or the dorky melted ice prince? You might as well ask me which is better, cake or pie?
Clearly the OT3 is the only solution. I mean, they spend all their time together and even briefly live together (!!!!!!!) and there's kissing involved for both couples. Mae Ri angsts in bed, thinking about all the kisses she's received.
Mae Ri's dad singing about "my two son-in-laws."
Have I talked about Mae Ri yet? Because she's the best part of the drama. She's funny, warm, devious, adorable, and pretty much the cutest thing ever. She's an avid drama watcher! She always wears a million fuzzy layers that make her look like a mitten-wearing carnival show of sunshine and joy! She's one of those characters who will make you smile ALL THE TIME.
You just smiled, didn't you? Don't lie.
She also makes the dual-marriage plot. See, she agrees to the 100 day trial, but only as part of her master plan to go back to school. The boys are expecting her to choose a husband after 100 days, but in reality she plans to kick both of them to the curb and use the money for college.
In the meantime, she demands to work as part of the deal, and she winds up landing her dream job of being a screenwriter's assistant.
Basically, Mae Ri is so great that she single-handedly took the whole "arranged marriage" storyline and turned it into a vehicle for her education, career, and personal passions. HELL YEAH MAE RI. \o/
So yes, this drama is absolutely ridiculous. But it's a ridiculous you don't have to feel bad about watching. It's like a three-layer chocolate ice cream cake lying on a plate of dollar bills. Of course you want it. You still have to eat your way to the male stripper in the center.